I bought Project Hold On with my dad back in 1999. She is Special Effort, Dash For Cash, Easy Jet and Raise Your Glass. She does have full AQHA papers vs appendix due to her speed index of 83 I think it was. Anyhow. She is a super LONG mare. Almost freakishly Long bodied! Horrible to ride because of her long back and short cannon bones. I knew I had to breed her to something short backed with a pretty head (her head is not so pretty but don't tell her that!). I chose a nice own son of Doc's Lynx out of an own daughter of Magnolia Bar. He was an older stallion but built like a Mac truck and PRETTY! He won a lot of points in roping and working cow horse etc. He stood 16.1 so I figured with the mare standing 15.2 we would get a nice sized foal. Not to mention that this foal should be level headed and an athlete! The filly came out as a pretty palomino with a star, strip and two left socks. Unfortunately she was born when I had left the family ranch to become a County Extension Agent living 3 hours away. She was foaled in 2001. I am Aggie class of 2001! Whoop! Anyhow, Roxy (her barn name) was spoiled and did not go to school until she was six. She was a bit of a brat. My dad said "pick a stud and let's breed her!" Ok, will do! I went back to a stud we had used in the past named Pepos Peewee. He was a black stud and an own son of Peptonita out of an own daughter of Sugar Bars. He was all of 28 when we bred Roxy to him. All of his offspring are very easy to train and willing to do anything for their owners. You could say they all have a huge heart! 11 months later, Lynx was born. I had a dream about this colt. I knew we would be a tad bit of an ugly duckling but I knew he had a star and a left sock. I knew he would be something special one day. A week after my dream I got the call that Lynx had been born!
Of course when the cell phone pictures got to me, I knew him from my dream. He was awkwardly tall and a little long necked with a huge head. But something drew me to him. Regretfully I had to place him for sale for my dad as a yearling. He was a hard keeper and well, dad wasn't into keeping geldings, colts, fillies etc. So, I put him up for a whole $1500. No bites. Like I said, he was kind of an ugly duckling! Well finally, around September of his yearling year, Jeff and I made dad an offer and lynx came home with us.
I have a good friend who worked with me to get him 90 days of riding. I personally gave up breaking colts and really wanted a good foundation put on him. Boy oh boy did he come home with a good foundation! Dee and Robert Carlton did such an awesome job! They had him from august- November. When he came home, I was amazed at his willing attitude and his abilities. He has never been an in your pocket horse but none the less, he was special! Shortly after he came home he slightly bowed a tendon playing in the muddy pasture. So he got three months off. When I began to ride him again he was just as broke as he was when he was fresh from the trainer. Then I got pregnant! I could not ride with my baby in my belly. So he went back out to the pasture. Kolton was born in January of 2011. We moved to Wills Point two months later and finally it was time to ride. Gabe was coming back into shape and running good. Lynx was being hauled along and ridden. Nothing much. He did great but being 4, and still growing, I didn't want to push him. July of 2011 Gabe flipped over backwards tied to a fence. He was lame. Still is really. So it was time to move on and start riding Lynx and/or Trip, a little mare I acquired along the way. Trip was nice but went on to a calf roping home. I started to exhibition Lynx and he was slowly loping the pattern. He liked to slow lope and turn tight. I finally got up the nerve in November to ask for more. He shocked me with winning the 4D. Next thing I know we are hauling around. He kept getting faster and we kept trying to find a bit that was light enough but still had whoa. He was so touchy! He would cut right out from under me with a bit in his mouth! That big boy cuts like a little horse! Finally I had a hacks more made by JD Morrow. It was perfect! Then I got sick. I had to have some organs removed. Man oh man was I frustrated! From June 2012-December 2012, I was basically off my horse. We did make it to Elite in November when lynx acquired a lung infection. He had a triple lung infection that kept him at the vet for 6 weeks while I was having surgery. We seriously thought we had lost him. At this point he was 3D and getting faster. But we didn't realize he was a silent bleeder and had so much scaring in his lungs that he was holding his breath when he ran. We were all clear to start back to riding January 1st. I don't think my vet thought he would come back like he did! We went to Glen Rose that January and did pretty good. He just kept getting faster!
We won our first buckle in the 2D. It was a six week series and we only made it to 4 of six. Mary Walker was there and helped us in the alley the night we won that buckle! I was so tickled!
I got a job and tried to keep going. But between working, raising my son and the quickly growing pain in my hip, it was hard. We ran when we could. We made it back to Glen Rose in August of 2013. He tied for 20th in the 1D. WOW! Over 500 horses! But at that point I knew surgery was in my near future to repair my completely torn hip. I was doing good to walk without crutches. Back out to the pasture he went. Right along with his half maternal brother Perks on the Fly. (Same dam, sired by Perks Alive). Surgery for me happened before thanksgiving 2013. It was bad. It was very very very bad. After it was all said and done with, my doctor told me there was only a 10% chance the surgery would have worked. I spent that three months loving my horses through the fence. At 7 weeks post op I brought my saddle into the house and worked on just sitting in my saddle. It hurt but I had to try. At 11 weeks my doctor told me that even though he said 16 weeks before I can ride, he wanted me to ride. He said "it's who you are. You are a barrel racer and I think not riding is doing you more harm spiritually. You need to get back in the saddle so go ride!" It was cold and wet but I rode! It hurt but a good hurt! I think Lynx was glad to have me back in the saddle! At 13 weeks I entered up! I did leg him up from the ground for six weeks. I just had to do it in a way that it didn't hurt my hip. We also started back on FASTRACK. That helped him from the inside out!
Lynx came back strong! I did too. We had to learn how to ride all over again since my hip had been damaged for so long. But it's now June 2013. Lynx has won around $2000 since we started back in FEBUARY 2014. He has won the 1D at several races. Placed in the 1D and almost won us another 1D buckle! He placed high in the 2D at D&G then the very next week won the 1D locally. We beat our personal time over and over in a 6 week time span. We went from a 16.1 to a 15.6 on the same pattern! This last weekend he placed 2nd in the 1D. I'm still a little shocked!
I know that God has put this amazing horse in my life for a reason! His "little brother" who is now 16.1hh, is coming along nice too. My life has had some amazing challenges and some wonderful blessings! Things have gotten bad then really good. But looking back, I think every set back was God saying...."wait, it will come in time". Now I am super blessed with an amazing athlete! He is only 7. His little bro is only 3. Both are on Fastrack. Both are doing amazing. I now feel a strong pull to rodeo! I decided to put it off for one more year. But we will be running at some bigger races until then! See y'all down the road!
